Without the Mask
by sailorlyoko4life
Summary: Mina as Sailor V muses about how her life has changed from being a solo artist to being apart of a group. Shows the deeper side of sailor venus.


**Hey guys, this topic just wouldn't leave my head and I couldn't find any fanfics with it so I decided to write my own little short scene so it would leave me alone.**

 **I am honestly not that big of a Venus fan, I love serena the most, and of course I am a die hard Sailor moon fan. (hence part of my name). But Mina really doesn't get enough credit, and a lot of people don't realize some cannon things about her that make her amazing and show that the show doesn't necessarily give her the spotlight she deserves.**

 **There are so many things you can pick out about her that I wish they would have highlighted more, like for instance I didn't mention this in this story but she was a killer volley ball player. It used to be one of her passions. But do most people remember that when thinking about her? NO! So this little story is just a little look into her more serious side that we don't always recognize she has.**

 **Ok the rants over now, on to the show!**

 **Enjoy!**

 **Disclaimer: I own nothing but the title.**

 _Without the Mask_

Sailor V had just got done catching some normal criminals and handing them over to the police. She hadn't realized that she had forgotten what a thrill it always gave her to be fighting fights she could win so easily on her own. And to just be doing simple good and not always saving the world was a nice change in pace too. She was now in the park next to the lake late at night under the tree so no one could see her. She took off her mask and analized it for a bit. This mask stood for her old life, before the scouts. She smiled sadly at it and looked to her partner when he had addressed her.

"You really miss being sailor V don't you Mina?" Artemis asked curiously.

"Yes, I suppose sometimes I do miss it. Not having to worry about everyone else and being able to go all out without holding back. And these are simpler times too. No evil monsters who can over power me or being with dark powers who can do numerous terrible things to face. Just plain people. Just like when we started, remember how we had to mix it in with the monsters so people would see me as a hero instead of just some crazy girl in a skirt with magical powers shouting nonsense about love and justice?" Her and Artemis had a good laugh at that memory.

After a few minutes of calm quietly passed between them like that breeze over the lake Artemis spoke again.

"You know at some point you are going to have to take your rightful place as the leader of the Sailor Scouts."

Mina closed her eyes and sighed. "Yes of course I know that. But why rush it? Serena needs to learn leadership skills better since she is going to be queen. This is great practice for her.

And besides when she steps down from being Sailor Moon so she can be Neo Queen Serenity then I will _have_ to be leader. So why not just wait and just enjoy the time we have while we have it? No one has to remember that I was the original leader during silver millennium." The guardian of love leaned back on the trunk of the tree and closed her eyes so that she could enjoy the nice summer night breeze.

"You know you could do this more often again. Being sailor V. So long as everything is calm then you could go back to being a solo artist again until something comes back up." He knew very well that she had enjoyed being Sailor V once she got the hang of it. But it wasn't always easy. And he knew her too well and knew what her answer would be.

"But, it was lonely Artemis. I really love being with the other girls and having someone you trust to watch your back and also having people who you can actually talk to about your double life openly with. Having people who I can laugh with and who know the real me and I can just be myself and not carry the wait of all of it all on my own. I enjoy that much more then when I was a loner only having myself to depend on." Its true, it was hard knowing she couldn't be silly and carefree like other girls her age because she had an important job to do and she couldn't afford to be distracted. Maybe that was why she acted so silly and girly now, because she knew she could relax now and be who she wants to be, not just who she has to be.

She let her eyes wonder to the moonlit lake. Absentmindedly rubbing her mask between her fingers. She let out a sigh.

"Sometimes I wonder what it would have been like if I was found by Serena like the others, instead of being awakened two years earlier and having to bear it all on my own before joining them." She then looked up and noticed that she had hurt her dear friends feelings.

"Artemis" She picks him up and nuzzles him. "You know what I mean. I know there was movement in the dark kingdom and you had no choice. I don't blame you for anything. Besides they probably would have never found me if we hadn't found them first." Mina gave him a sincere smile.

"That's probably true. You didn't even live in Tokyo until after I woke you up. Plus there was the publicity that you attracted and used to show them what being a Sailor Scout meant. I still don't think they ever realized that was on purpose." The white moon cat chuckled. Mina giggled as well. It was nice to know that Sailor Moon became such a big fan of her, plus it was amazing to find out that the girls had partially bonded though playing her video game. Fate was an interesting thing.

Though no one ever gave her credit for all the information she had brought to light when she had joined the team either. Oh well. She wasn't the type of person to hold onto miniscule grudges like that. She was more then happy to have the girls. Happy to not have to hold the world's fate on her shoulders alone anymore. Happy to have people who truly cared about her.

Her communicator went off all of the sudden, effectively snapping her out of her thoughts.

"Mina we need you over at the temple right now, we have a monster to fight." Mercury announced.

"Right, I'll be there as soon as I can." She looked at her mask which she still held gracefully between her fingers with a nostalgic look, and then put it down.

"Alright Artemis, our friends need us! Venus power MAKE UP!" and just like that, it was out with the old red and blue and in with the new orange. She peered at her reflection in the lake one last time. She really did like not having to wear a mask anymore.

 **Alright, Tell me what you guys think! I was really just trying to point out facts that people often miss, but was trying to keep it Mina like as well. Did you learn anything? Did you enjoy the story?**


End file.
